Zahir

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Lore & Background

The name Zahir appears across several centuries of Islamic history. Al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah (1005–1036) was the seventh caliph of the Fātimids. Az-Zahir of Aleppo (1172–1216) was a son of Saladin and leader of the Ayyubid dynasty. Az-Zahir (Abbasid caliph) (1176–1226) served as Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1225 to 1226. Al-Ẓāhir Baybars (1223/1228–1277) was a Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria. Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq (1336–1399) was the first sultan of the Mamluk Burji dynasty. Zahir-ud-Din Babur (1483–1531) established the Mughal dynasty in India in 1526. Mohammed Zahir Shah (1914–2007) was the last king of Afghanistan.

In Their Own Story

In literature, "The Zahir" (in the original Spanish, "El Zahir") is a 1949 short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. The Zahir (novel) (in the original Portuguese, O Zahir) is a 2005 novel from the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho.

Reader's Guide

Notable people named Zahir include Zahir Al Ghafri (1956–2024), an Omani poet; Zahir al-Umar (1689/90-1775), a virtual Arab ruler of northern Palestine in the 18th century; Zahir Pajaziti (1962–1997), first Commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army; and Zahir Porter (born 2000), an American basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Zahir Mosque is Kedah's state mosque in Alor Setar. Related names include Zaheer (name), the Urdu spelling, and various disambiguation pages for Abdul Zahir, Zahir al-Din, and Dahir.

Did You Know?

• Aẓ-Ẓāhir is one of the names of God in Islam, meaning 'The Manifest, The Evident, The Outer'.
• Al-Ẓāhir Baybars (1223/1228–1277) was a Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria.
• Zahir-ud-Din Babur (1483–1531) established the Mughal dynasty in India in 1526.
• Mohammed Zahir Shah (1914–2007) was the last king of Afghanistan.
• "The Zahir" is a 1949 short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges.